I can’t ever remember making as many decisions at one time as when I was planning my wedding. Decisions such as how long table clothes should hang off of the edge of the table, what waiters should be wearing and even where each table should be set up.  One of the decisions that actually took some prior planning and thinking seems like a simple solution for many brides, and that’s where to get ready for your wedding day. Most brides just plan on getting ready for their wedding at home, or at the church – but what’s the best place to really get ready for your wedding? Here are some thoughts.

Getting Ready at Home

One brides choose to get wedding day ready at home, or the home of a family member. This can be a great option for a couple of reasons. One reason is spending quality time with your family in a familiar location before your wedding. Many stylists will come directly to your house to do your hair there for a small fee, and everybody can get ready together. The downside of course is then staying wedding day beautiful for the trip to the church. High winds or rain could damage that beautiful hairstyle, and someone might forget something important at home and a frantic run back home is never great for the stress levels. Plus, you might need special transportation to get everybody over there at the same time with enough room for your giant and beautiful wedding dress.

Getting Ready at the Ceremony Location

Many churches and other locations who host weddings will offer the bride a room to get ready in before the big day. This is great in that you don’t have to travel far once you are wedding day ready, and it’s easy to find if you have a stylist or make up people coming in to help you get wedding day beautiful. Plus, it’s right on site so if something is forgotten or you need something, it’s super easy to get. No special transportation is needed to get you to the church, and sometimes the room is so fancy and beautiful it can be more fun to get ready there and pamper yourself  a bit.

So what are you going to do? What are your thoughts on where to get ready for your wedding?

A while back, I did an article on Tuscan Themed Weddings because I was seeing a lot of brides and weddings with this theme, and personally I just love the color schemes that work so well with Tuscan weddings I couldn’t resist when I saw this. It’s an excellent idea for a cool, refreshing and surprisingly inexpensive wedding centerpiece for your Tuscan themed wedding. I mean, just check out that beautiful picture over there that I found from Martha Stewart. It’s fabulous, and I love her wedding ideas, they’re so easy to copy and do on your own.

How to Do It

You can easily visit your local farmer’s market or organic grocery store to find these lovely tomatoes in red and orange, and those beautiful little olives. As for the bread sticks, you might be able to find them frozen somewhere, but if you have a grandmother or friend who can make bread that is out of this world you might want to enlist their help. After all, fresh is ALWAYS better! Some small bowls of fresh marinara sauce, and you have a fabulous wedding centerpiece that works as appetizer and possibly wedding favors as well, giving away those beautiful baskets of tomatoes.

I love it, what do you think?

Oh how I wish I had seen this marvelous idea when we were planning our wedding! One of the hottest new wedding trend (and FUN one at that!) is to have a wedding photobooth at your wedding reception. They’re tons of fun, easy to set up, fun for your wedding guests and excellent memories of your wedding day that you can keep forever. I first heard about this new wedding trend a couple of months ago, and have been seeing it all over the place! Here are just a couple of ideas to get you rolling.

A Wedding Photo booth is Easy to Set Up

If you’re not as lucky as some of us with the option of tons of extra rooms for your wedding day, a photo booth can be as simple to set up as hanging some white cloth or even a colored shower curtain on the wall. Be sure to make a definite place where your guests are to stand for their pictures. At my cousin’s wedding just a few weeks ago, she simply strung out a bright and colorful shower curtain across the corner. If you’re having an outdoor wedding then string up a sheet or thick paper between two trees or wherever you can find a spot, preferably away from direct sunlight or windy areas which can have an adverse affect on your pictures.

Don’t Forget the Props!!

One of the things that set a wedding photobooth apart from any other kind of photo booth is the fun you can have, so don’t forget the props. The props can be anything your little heart desires. I’ve seen wigs, giant sunglasses, fedoras, feather boas, cut-outs of giant mustaches on sticks, giant red lips, tiaras, funny hats and other costume ideas. You can even include some large empty picture frames as props in your wedding and let your guests just get creative. Another fun idea is to include a white board and markers, or a chalkboard with chalk for special messages from your wedding guests.

One thing about this wedding trend is for sure. Your guests will have tons of fun taking pictures and watching others get their pictures taken, and not only that – but you’ll have some fun picture memories from your wedding that will leave you rolling long after your wedding is over.

Many thanks to my awesome cousin Caleb for this awesome wedding photo booth shot!

It’s always interesting to see what sorts of trends will come around from year to year, from fashion and shoes to weddings, there are so many different ways that everything could swing. I’ve looked through all sorts of articles on proposed wedding trends for 2011, and I’ve seen a lot of great ideas that I’m totally excited about. A few of the things I’ve already blogged about, like vintage weddings and outdoor weddings and wedding receptions. But one that I’ve been holding back on until now was the trend of  a royalty wedding.

Whether you keep up with the royal family across the pond or not is up to you, but most of the world (wedding planners included) are keeping all eyes on Katherine Middleton and Prince William as they are dutifully and secretly planning their own wedding day. While details are scare, a few small details have leaked out, such as the date set, the location and time, and even that there will be no horse drawn carriage. But the world is still watching, eager to see what these two trendsetters will choose.

So yes, one hot wedding trend this year will be a royalty wedding. Expect huge ballroom gowns (even though we don’t know what sort of dress Katherine will be wearing – experts are saying that ballroom gowns will be huge this year) with beautiful and intricate cathedral trains, tiaras, a horse drawn carriage and all of those other little special touches that just shout something special.

So…if you could be a fly on the wall in the room where Prince William and Kate Middleton do their wedding planning, what would you like to peek into?

They are our sisters, cousins, soon to be sisters-in-law and our dear friends – and they mean so much to us. It can be a difficult task having to pick those special few who will stand up with you on your wedding day up at the front for all to see as your bridesmaids.  When most bridesmaids accept your invitation to a bridesmaid they understand that there is going to be work involved. But like I said, these ladies are your family and friends and they’ll probably be wanting to help in your wedding even if they weren’t chosen. The fact remains though – you need to treat your bridesmaids right, right?

We’ve all seen the shows about the Bridezilla who stomps around yelling orders at her fiancee, friends and family and throwing a hissy fit like some kind of two year old. Or those terrible bridesmaid dresses that are so terrible that they stick in our heads like a train wreck you just can’t look away from. It’s times like these the words come back again and again…you need to treat your bridesmaids right. But  what are some good ways to do it?

Here is a list of just a few ways to show consideration for those important ladies in your life:

1. When picking the colors and designs of the bridesmaid dresses, be sure to consider the form and coloring of each lady. I had two blonds, a redhead and two brunettes in my wedding party – and needed to find a spring color that would compliment each lady.

2. One option we’re seeing more and more with wedding trends is picking out a wedding color, and having your bridesmaid pick out her own style and length of dress in that color. It’s a surefire way to make sure they love their dresses!

3. Bridesmaid gifts are a must! Buy them a nice thank you gift for all their hard work and time dedicated to your wedding. It doesn’t have to be something that breaks the bank, but something heartfelt to show just how much you care.

4. Never underestimate the power of a “looking you straight in eye” with a heartfelt thank you and a hug.

5. Remember that your bridesmaids have jobs and lives outside of their bridesmaid duties. Be flexible if they are late or cannot make an event. Also, remember to ask them how they are. It sounds silly, but if you get overwhelmed with wedding stuff that starts to be all that you can think about and your other relationships suffer.

I know the concepts may be silly and simple – but you’d be surprised about how easily some of these little things can escape us when you’re doing something as big and stressful as planning a wedding. What are some special things you’re doing to remember those ladies closest to you?

In nearly every bridal book you pick up, or florist shop you enter, you’ll see what most people have in their minds when it comes to wedding flowers. Huge, expensive looking bouquets adorning the pews, aisles, archway at the front, on every table and in the hands of every bridesmaid and the bride. And as a flower lover myself, weddings with so many flowers are gorgeous and fill the whole room with the sweet scents of flowers, but the price tag of supplying that many flowers for a one day event can be astronomical.  The truth is that there are many great alternatives to using flowers in your wedding, and some of them can really save you a lot of money. Here are just a couple places in your wedding where you can do something different to change it all up.

Using Homegrown Plants

If you or anyone you know has a green thumb and is willing to help – then why not put them to work and start growing your wedding flowers early. Then, you can place the flower pots along the aisle you walk down, or use them as centerpieces for your reception.  You don’t even have to use flowers either. One popular trend is to use a cluster of several different kinds of good smelling herbs or wildflowers together on your tables, and giving each wedding guest one of the pots as a wedding favor your guests will enjoy and actually use!

Reuse those Flowers from Your Ceremony

Another great way to stretch your budget for wedding flower dollars is to reuse them to get the most bang for your buck. Instead of having flowers for just the wedding or just the reception, why not use them for both? One great example of this is to use the bridesmaid’s bouquets as the flowers on your centerpiece.  If you have 5 bridesmaids then that is five extra bouquets that you don’t have to buy for the reception centerpieces. If you’re thinking of using this method, make sure you check with your locations first (believe it or not – sometimes you’re not allowed to take your flowers back out).

Reduce the Number of Wedding You Use

Another great option that is sort of a no-brainer is to just reduce the number of flowers you use for your wedding completely. Find something else to use as your centerpieces such as sweet smelling candles or photographs of the happy couple, and have your bridesmaids carry a large, single flower or two down the aisle.

There are lots of great ideas for making your wedding dollars stretch further and giving you more wedding for your money. The Internet is always a great place to find great ideas for wedding help and helps get the creative juices flowing.

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about this fabulous little idea for smore wedding favors, and a bunch of different ways you could dress them up and package them for your wedding guests.  I loved the idea so much that I kept doing more and more searching for other fun ideas you can do with smores in your wedding. Well, I think the new idea that I’ve found is so fun and exciting that I just have to share. At your wedding or bridal shower, why not set up a smores table that you and your guests will remember forever! Trust me, if I had been to a wedding or bridal shower with a smores table like this – I would never have forgotten about it.

I found the idea on CookieCreatives.com, and here is just a little description of the deliciousness on this page!!

For this set-up I made 4 different flavors of marshmallows, raspberry, lime, vanilla, and chocolate.  There were 2 different kinds of graham crackers, 3 types of chocolate, and 2 toppings.  The toasted coconut and chopped toasted pecans were delicious add-ons and stuck to the melted marshmallows perfectly!  I used simple plates and bowls for the display as well an incorporating some tin pails and wicker baskets to keep it elegant but summery and slightly rustic.

I can’t even express into words how much I LOVE this idea! I think I’ll make it my screen saver or something. I posted one of the pictures of her smore’s table, and you’ll have to check out the rest of it out yourself here. Happy wedding planning y’all!